Traction wheel drive for bucket elevators



March 17, 1953 TRANSEAU 2,631,459

TRACTION WHEEL DRIVE FOR BUCKET ELEVATORS Filed Nov. 8, 1950 INVENTOR SHERMAN T-TRHNSEHU ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 17, 1953 UNITED STATES TRACTION WHEEL DRIVE FOR BUCKET ELEVATORS 2 Claims.

The present invention relates to bucket elevators and. more particularly to an improved traction wheel therefor.

In bucket elevators heretofore in use there have been two types of drive wheels generally used to transfer the torque of a driven shaft to the elevator chain, one of which is the common toothed sprocket drive wheel and the other the well-known, tractionwheel having a smooth riin designed to frictionally engage the chain. Both have inherent disadvantages as will be pointed out.

In. the toothed sprocket: Wheel, a tooth on the: wheel contacts the barrel or other part of, the chain link on the up run and pulls the chain over and through the arc of the drive or head wheel, while releasing its contact on. the down run of the chain. This sprocket type Wheel positive in its action in that any and all torque in. the headshaft is delivered to the elevator chain Without any appreciable slippage between the drive wheel and the chain. It is, however, subject to the disadvantage that it creates excessive Wear on parts and breakage. There is ever present a continuous wear on both the tooth of the sprocket wheel and the elevator chain barrel or other parts due either to slip-page of. the chain barrel on the sprocket tooth, or to the rotation of the chain barrel against the sprocket tooth as the chain passes through the arc of the wheel. This wear and grinding action of the chain parts While in contact with. the tooth of the sprocket wheel is such that it reduces the chain life to as little as ten per cent of the normal life of the chain.

The breakage referred to in the case of the sprocket wheel drive is due to the fact that the sprocket Wheel is a positive drive so that when the elevator becomes jammed by overloading or because of a foreign object entering the elevator system, it is wrecked due to the breakage of either the chain or the tooth of the wheel unless the torque is released through the use of suitable shear pin, slip coupling Or other safety devices. Furthermore, the cost of maintenance of the material-handling equipment, and, consequently, the cost per ton of material handled is materally increased because as the chain joints wear, the original pitch of the chain is increased and as the barrels of the chain wear the sprocket wheel teeth, the pitch of the latter is also increased. By reason of this pitch variation, not only in the chain but also in the sprocket wheel, the replacement of a worn chain makes it absolutely necessary to also replace the sprocket 2 Wheel in order to have them both of the same original pitch.

In the traction wheel type of drive, the torque from the elevator drive shaft is transferred to the elevator chain through the friction of the chain coming in contact with the rim of the traction wheel.

The advantages of this traction wheel type are as follows: It is quiet in operation. Also, the lifeof the chain is at its maximum due to the fact that practically all of the grinding motion present the tooth sprocket Wheel is eliminated. Furthermore, since the traction wheel has a smooth surface, the pitch of the chain is not a factor, and, consequently, when the chain is replaced, it is unnecessary to replace the traction Wheel. Another advantage is that only a. given torque can be transferred from the elevator drive shaft to the chain. When this torque is exceeded due to a foreign object entering the elevator system, the chain slips on the traction wheel, making it impossible to wreck the elevator. Such being the case, it is not necessary to incur the expense of installing shear pins, slip couplings or other such safety devices.

The disadvantages of the traction wheel drive are as follows: Due. to the fact that only a fixed amount of torque can be transferred from. the traction wheel to the chain, it is often impossible to drive the elevator chain by the conventional traction Wheel. The factors determining the amount of torque transferred from the traction wheel to the chain are the coeficient of friction between the two metals of the traction wheel and the chain and also the weight of the material per cubic foot being handled in the elevator system. Up to a given weight of the material being handled by the chain elevator, the tractive pull will be normally suificient when it is 200% of the necessarypull to operate the elevator. When, however, the tractive pull falls below this normal factor of 206%, the slippage between the chain and the traction wheel will increase to the point where the transfer of torque from the traction Wheel to the chain is insufficient to elevate the load. Therefore, for satisfactory operation of the traction wheel drive, it is absolutely essential that a competent engineer have before him all pertinent data for emcient installation and operation of a chain elevator driven by the conventional traction wheel.

Having in mind the foregoing, it is among the principal objects of the present invention to provide an improved construction of traction wheel the use of which obviates the disadvantages of both the toothed sprocket drive wheel and the conventional traction drive wheel, while at the same time retaining their advantages.

Another object of the invention is to provide a traction wheel in which a safety factor is introduced in that the torque from the wheel to the chain can be increased or decreased according to conditions.

A still further object is to provide a traction wheel wherein any amount of torque can be delivered to a chain by the wheel without causing breakage damage such as occurs through a positive drive.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear more fully hereinafter, it being understood that the present invention consists substantially in the combination, construction, location and relative arrangement of parts, all as described more fully hereinafter, as shown in the accompanying drawings and as finally pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a traction wheel embodying one form of the present invention and showing a portion of an elevator chain with the link barrels in section to illustrate the driving relation of the wheel;

Figure 2 represents a section through the traction wheel, with the chain omitted;

Figure 3 represents a perspective of the traction wheel of Figure 1, showing a portion of the bucket chain;

Figure 4 is a peripheral view of a traction wheel embodying a modified form of the invention and shown as partly broken away;

Figure 5 is a peripheral view, on a reduced scale, of the traction wheel of Figure 4 showing a dual bucket chain or elevator in position; and

Figure 6 represents a side elevation of Figure 5 showing the chain in association with an idler uide wheel.

Referring to Figures 1 to 3 of the drawings, a traction wheel embodying one form of the invention is shown comprising a hub having radially disposed spokes H connected terminally with a circumferential rim 2 for concentric turning movement. The hub It! forms an internal bore it to receive a driven shaft and has a keyway Hi to receive the usual key in such a shaft for transmitting motion to the wheel. A threaded opening l5 traverses the hub in in alinement with the keyway M to receive a set screw it (shown in Figure 2) to lock the wheel in place upon the driven shaft.

The traction wheel of the invention is shown for use with a bucket elevator chain of the type formed by a plurality of chain links, I! connect ed, one to another, by transverse pins :8 respectively forming pivotal bearings for cylindrical chain link barrels l9 transversely disposed across the periphery of the rim 2 for traction driving by the wheel rim [2. Thus, the bucket elevator chain is in the form of an endles articulated unit made up of a plurality of chain links with the barrels IQ of the several links spaced equally throughout the length of the elevator chain.

For the purpose of developing the required traction for driving the elevator, the periphery of the rim E2 of the wheel is formed as a generally uniform undulating or corrugated curvilinear surface formed by a plurality of open sided, transversely arranged concave grooves 20, each formed on such a radius as to provide a traction surface generally complemental to the periphery of the barrel l9 which rides therein. The projection 2|, thus formed between each pair of adjacent grooves 20, is shaped as a convex traction face of such radius as to cause it to merge smoothly into the continuing concave surfaces of the grooves 20. While the depth of the grooves 20 may be varied to increase or decrease the torque from the wheel to the chain, it is important that the depth should not be such as to transform the convex projections into an abutment corresponding to the action of a tooth, a construction specifically avoided by the present invention. To obtain the desired releasable torque action, the depth of the grooves 20 should be less than the radius of the barrel entering such grooves. By the substantially uniform undulating surface the traction drive becomes a composite one of both torque and friction, the former, however, being self-releasing when the elevator chain is subjected to overload or when its freedom of movement is impeded by a foreign object entering the elevator system. In Figure 3, the modified traction wheel of the present invention is shown as associated with a single bucket type chain, upon which the material-handling buckets 22 are mounted in properly spaced relation.

In the form of the invention shown in Figures 4, 5, and 6, the traction wheel is in the form of a drum 23 having side flanges 24 and 25, and an intermediate medial web 26 interconnecting the drum periphery 21 with the hub 28. Projecting radially from the periphery 2?, in the plane of the web 26, is a circumferential extension 29 preferably of greater width than the aforesaid web 25, to form the rim of the traction wheel of which the web 26 and hub 28 are the component parts. The circumferential extension 29 is provided with open sided grooves 30 similar in number, spacing, and configuration to those heretofore described in connection with Figure l, and functioning in like manner. By this construction the extension 29 and the flanges 24 and 25 provide two channels 3| and 32 which are respectively dimensioned to allow free passage of the elevator buckets 33 carried at opposite sides of the chain 34. Thus, while the bucket are guided and confined by the respective channels, the spacing permits the buckets 33 to travel freely past an idler 35 in straddling relation thereto and without any part thereof being in the path of the travelling buckets.

From the foregoing it will now be apparent that a novel traction wheel has been devised for driving bucket elevators, wherein the disadvantages of prior drive wheels, such as th toothed sprocket and traction wheel types, have been eliminated, while maintaining all the advantages thereof with added eficiency, safety, minimum repairs, and minimum replacements. Furthermore, it will be evident that when the system is subjected to an overload or other impediment to free movement of the elevator chain, the convex portions 2! of the traction wheel ride under the barrels of the chain links in engagement with the wheel and so permit the latter to function in the manner of a conventional smooth-surfaced traction wheel to relieve the system of all such torque as might seriously damage or cause lreakage of the component elements of the system. On the other hand, under conditions of normal load or even temporary overload, the modified traction wheel of the present invention provides such in- 5 creased traction or coeiiicient of friction between the wheel and the elevator chain as to materially increase the operating e-fficiency of the system as a whole.

It will be understood, of course, that the present invention is susceptible of various changes and modifications which may be made from time to time Without departing from the general prin ciples or real spirit thereof, and it is accordingly intended to claim the same broadly, as well as specifically, as indicated by the appended claims.

What is claimed as new and useful is:

1. For driving an endless chain of articulated links including a plurality of transversely extending wheel engaging barrels, a traction wheel comprising a hub and interconnected rim, said rim having a combined torque-traction surface formed by a plurality of circumferentially spaced transversely extending concave grooves each of which is smoothly merged with its next adjacent groove by a transversely extending convex projection, and each of which has a depth less than the outside radius of any such barrel and a radius at least equal to the radius of said barrel.

2. For driving an endless chain of articulated links including a plurality of equally spaced transversely extending similar- Wheel engaging barrels, a traction wheel comprising a hub and interconnected rim, said rim having a combined torquetraction surface formed by a plurality of transversely extending similar grooves complementally curved to receive said barrels and having a depth less than the outside radius of said barrels, each of said grooves being smoothly merged with its next adjacent groove by a transversely extending convex projection, and said grooves being circumferentially equally spaced to simultaneously accommodate a plurality of said barrels.

SHERMAN T. TRANSEAU.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

